GoodWork: Theory and Practice Excellence Engagement Ethics Howard Gardner, Editor GoodWork: Theory and Practice GoodWork: Theory and Practice Howard Gardner, Editor Copyright © 2010 Howard Gardner for the GoodWork Project. All rights reserved. CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii About the Contributors ix 1 Introduction 1 Howard Gardner Part One: Reflections on Origins 2 Writings on a Coffee‐Mug: My Experiences of the Good Work 25 Project Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 3 My “Origins” Story 37 William Damon Part Two: Expansion of Theory 4 Mission Creep and Bad Work in Higher Places 45 William Damon 5 GoodWork after 15 years – In Education, Leadership and Beyond 63 Hans Henrik Knoop 6 “In God We Trust; All Others Bring Data” Trust and Accountability 85 in GoodWork Susan Verducci v GoodWork: Theory and Practice Part Three: Critique of Theory 7 Defining and Modeling Good Work 107 Jeanne Nakamura 8 Returning to the GoodWork Project’s Roots: Can Creative Work 127 Be Humane? Seana Moran 9 Reflections on The GoodWork Project: A Sociologist’s 153 Perspective Carrie James Part Four: Applications Collaborations 10 Good Collaboration: What Works, What Hasn’t 179 Wendy Fischman The Educational Sector 11 Educating for Good Work 213 Kendall Cotton Bronk 12 The Acquisition of Self‐Knowledge in Schools: Why it is needed 226 and the changes it will require Karen Rathman 13 Taking Stock: The Value of Structuring Reflection on GoodWork 242 Kathleen Farrell 14 The Pedagogy of Good Work: Strategies of Engagement 257 Katie Davis Part Five: A Mirror test for GoodWork Researchers 15 Do You See What I See: Or, What Has the GoodWork Project 273 Done to Us! Lynn Barendsen vi Acknowledgements he projects outlined in this book have been generously and T flexibly funded by several individuals and several foundations. Profound thanks are due to the following: John Abele and the Argosy Foundation Atlantic Philanthropies Bauman Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York The Centre for Social Investment, Heidelberg University COUQ Foundation Nathan Cummings Foundation Judy Dimon J. Epstein Foundation Fetzer Foundation Ford Foundation William and Flora Hewlett Foundation John and Elisabeth Hobbs Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Robert Wood Johnson Foundation John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Thomas H. Lee John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Susan Blankenbaker Noyes, Makeitbetter.net Jesse Philips Foundation Fund vii GoodWork: Theory and Practice Rockefeller Brothers Fund Louise and Claude Rosenberg Jr. Family Foundation Ross Family Charitable Foundation Spencer Foundation John Templeton Foundation viii About the Contributors LYNN BARENDSEN Lynn Barendsen is a Project Manager at the GoodWork Project. She has published articles on African American and regionalist literatures and taught courses in literature and film. Lynn has been working on the GoodWork Project since 1997 and has published work on young social and business entrepreneurs and the elements of leadership _______________________________ KENDALL COTTON BRONK After graduating with a Doctorate in Educational Psychology from the Stanford University School of Education where she had the opportunity to work on the GoodWork Project, Kendall Cotton Bronk accepted an Assistant Professor position in Ball State University's Educational Psychology department. She continues to research topics related to the desire to contribute to the broader world in a pro–social and meaningful way. _______________________________ ix GoodWork: Theory and Practice MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is Professor of Positive Developmental Psychology at the Claremont Graduate University in California. He taught for thirty years at the University of Chicago and is the author of Flow and eighteen other books. _______________________________ WILLIAM DAMON William Damon is Professor of Education at Stanford University, Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. For the past thirty years, Damon has studied moral commitment at all ages of life. _______________________________ KATIE DAVIS Katie Davis is an Advanced Doctoral Student in Human Development and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She also works as a Project Specialist on the GoodPlay Project, the Developing Minds and Digital Media Project, and the Trust and Trustworthiness Project, all led by Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard’s Project Zero. Katie holds two Master’s Degrees from Harvard, one in Mind, Brain, and Education and one in Risk and Prevention. _______________________________ x KATHLEEN FARRELL Kathleen Kury Farrell is a Doctoral Student in Human Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As a college administrator, she worked closely with faculty and staff to develop opportunities for students to explore and contemplate meaningful work and service through their in-class and co-curricular experiences. Kathleen’s research explores self-reflection during emerging adulthood with a focus on understanding the role self-reflection may play in the development of moral and civic identity. _______________________________ WENDY FISCHMAN Wendy Fischman is a Project Manager at the GoodWork Project. She has published a book and several articles on the development of young professionals and is currently working on an application of the research to be used in schools and other educational settings. _______________________________ HOWARD GARDNER Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a leading thinker about education and human development; he has studied and written extensively about intelligence, creativity, leadership, and professional ethics. _______________________________ xi GoodWork: Theory and Practice CARRIE JAMES Carrie James is a Project Manager at the GoodWork Project. She has been studying higher education, medicine, philanthropy, and, more recently, young people’s conceptions of trust and their engagement with the new digital media at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include the relationship between gender and approaches to ethical dilemmas at work and play. Carrie has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from New York University _______________________________ HANS HENRIK KNOOP Hans Henrik Knoop has led the Nordic branch of the GoodWork Project since 1998, investigating the domains of education, journalism, and business. He is Associate Professor at the Danish University of Education and director of the Universe Research Lab, investigating learning, creativity, and the teaching of science. He has authored or co-authored five books and numerous articles on a broad range of topics related to learning, creativity, complexity, and social responsibility. _______________________________ xii SEANA MORAN Seana Moran examines how people contribute to the world beyond themselves—other individuals, society, and culture. To that end, she studies how people exhibit wisdom in a complex situation, how young people dedicate themselves to prosocial purposes, how workers commit themselves to creative endeavors, and how groups decide whether a novel contribution is good or bad. She earned her Doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University, as well as Master of Education and Master of Business Administration degrees. In 2010– 11, Seana will be a Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard _______________________________ JEANNE NAKAMURA Jeanne Nakamura is Assistant Professor in the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University. Her current research interests include engagement, mentoring, and positive aging. _______________________________ xiii GoodWork: Theory and Practice KAREN RATHMAN Karen Rathman is a Senior Scholar at the Stanford University Center on Adolescence. She is a member of the research team studying Youth Purpose. She earned an MA Degree in Values in Education: Philosophical Perspectives from the University of London’s Institute of Education. The Youth Purpose Project is integral to her goal of helping educators foster self-knowledge learning and life planning in students. She is also actively involved in the role of mentors with under-served youth. _______________________________ SUSAN VERDUCCI Susan Verducci is Assistant Professor of Humanities at San Jose State University and former researcher at the GoodWork Project. Her primary interests include moral philosophy, moral education, and the ethics of professional work. _______________________________ xiv GoodWork: Theory and Practice 1 Introduction Howard Gardner hen William (Bill) Damon, Mihaly (Mike) Csikszentmihalyi W and I went to the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in the fall of 1994, we had no intimation of the long–term consequences of our joint fellowship. On the personal side, Bill and his wife Anne soon moved from the northeast coast to Stanford University, and after a while, Mike and his wife Isabella moved from the shores of Lake Michigan to the Claremont Graduate University in southern California. (My wife Ellen and I stayed put in Cambridge, our home since we were college students). On the scholarly side, Mike, Bill, and I embarked on a collaboration that has lasted, in one form or another, since those days. A number of factors, none of which could have been anticipated, catalyzed to yield this long–term ambitious